Weddings

Weddings are a public witness of the love between a man and a woman and are among the happiest occasions in life. At Shrewsbury Abbey and St. Peter’s we promise to do our best to help you plan for the day itself, and for the years ahead.

Have a look at this Church of England site first, there are some really helpful tools for helping you plan your wedding – just click on the pictures below:

Getting Married Booklet

This booklet is a comprehensive guide to getting married at the Abbey or St. Peter’s. We recommend you read this first as it contains a great deal of the information you will need to make your special day really special. It also contains plenty of guidance to help you begin your married life together. This contains all the legalities, as there are certain limitations on who can be married in the Abbey or St. Peter’s.

Qualifying Connections

The ‘Getting Married Booklet’ mentions ‘qualifying connections’. This document details precisely what these are – if either of you live in the parish or are on the Electoral Roll of the Parish (this is not the local authority electoral register) you already have sufficient ‘connection’.

Second Marriage?

We are aware some marriages do fail and life moves on. If you are considering marriage and you have a ‘Previous Marriage Dissolved’ and your former spouse is still living, there is no automatic right to be married in any Church of England. It is, however, within the discretion of the Vicar to permit a second marriage to take place in either the Abbey or St. Peter’s. If you are considering a second marriage in the church, we recommend you speak with the Vicar at the earliest opportunity — and certainly before you make any arrangements. While there is no guarantee of the outcome, the Vicar considers every request seriously.

Marriage Service

This is a sample of the complete text for a service from ‘Common Worship’.

Photographer / Videographer Sheet

Most photographers and video-operators are thoroughly professional and unobtrusive. Sadly, some are not, and after all the preparation involving the Vicar and the Couple, some photographers think they can change everything at the last minute. This is a clear guide to what is and what is not permitted at the Abbey and St. Peter’s.

Sample Service Sheet

This is a very simple sample of a service sheet as given to the congregation on the day. Most couples like to take this as an outline guide and then design and make their own — some very simple, some quite spectacular.

Music

Most (or rather, almost all) weddings include music, and we can provide a wide range (mainly traditional). We have contracted organists to play during weddings at the Abbey and the Getting Married Booklet gives full details. In the meantime, if you want to browse though some popular Wedding Music, look at the Your Church Wedding site link – above.